Tory minister Michael Gove says he will be both relieved and delighted as the country leaves the EU at 11pm.
Gove, who is responsible for the government’s Brexit preparations as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, declared he is confident the country is ready to leave. He also claimed leaving will release the shackles on innovation so that the country can develop technologies to “feed the world’s poor”.
“It’s only the beginning actually of a new chapter in Britain’s history. There are lots of opportunities for us outside the European Union,” he told BBC Breakfast.
“There are commercial and economic opportunities but it’s also the case that it’s a chance for us, as a country, to come together, to recognise that many of the people who voted to leave, many of the areas that voted strongly to leave felt they had been overlooked and undervalued and now it’s time to bring our country together.”
BBC Breakfast
(@BBCBreakfast)“On the one hand relieved…on the other hand delighted…”@michaelgove tells #BBCBreakfast his feelings on #BrexitDay.
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Asked how he will feel at 11pm, he said: “On the one hand relieved that three and a half years of political wrangling are over, on the other hand delighted that what the British people voted for twice, in the referendum in 2016 and the general election just before last christmas, is at last coming to pass. The most precious gift that Britain has given the world is parliamentary democracy and we are restoring faith and restoring trust in that. In the future it’s the decisions that are made in this country that will determine what will happen in this country. That’s a really important thing. It means that every single individual’s voice matters equally, and it also means that politicians will be directly accountable.”
Asked for the top three changes that will be notable for the UK once it leaves the EU, Gove highlighted control of borders to “safeguard the security of British citizens, and we can also make sure we attract the brightest and the best”.
He added: “And the second thing, related to that, is that we can escape EU laws which have restricted innovation. So there are a huge range of areas where we can develop the technologies of the future which ensure that we can feed the world’s poor, that we can develop the technologies that will enhance all our lives, and will be able to do so without the bureaucracy that the EU imposes.”
Thirdly, he claimed Brexit will spread economic growth across the nation.
